Pulled
by Lindelle
Summary: Everyone admires the gorgeous Mr. Atemu from a far, and Yuugi Motou is no exception... but it's normal for students to crush on their teachers, right? However, throw in a simple accident, a hidden family history, and a little fantasy, and the two are launched on a crazy adventure that will change their lives forever. YYxY
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me.

WARNINGS: Yami is a teacher, Yuugi is a student. While the romance isn't what you'd say traditional, the concept itself is generally looked down on in most societies. Yuugi is 17, Yami is 24. Also, there is a bit of bad language thanks to our dear friend, Malik, but what else can you expect from someone like him?

GENERAL NOTES: Full disclosure - I never intended to publish this. I thought it was a plot bunny that would just go away. That being I said, I went through some of my old notes and actually liked where it was going. Updates will be slowish because I don't actually have an ending (or even a middle!) planned out yet, but I hope you enjoy what I've got.

-Pulled-

Prologue: Another Day in Paradise

Seventeen year old Yuugi Motou listened to the calm, baritone voice with as much attention as he could muster on a humid Friday afternoon, his large, violet eyes watching as a thin, tanned tan sketched various symbols on the chalk board at the front of the classroom. He scanned the newly drawn hieroglyphics and translated them with ease, glancing down at his thick text book only to verify what he already knew. Satisfied that he understood the material at hand, he allowed his gaze to flick around the sparse room, shifting from the pale, yellow walls covered in some places by cheesy motivational posters, to the lax faces of his classmates who were seated in perfect rows of small, wooden desks.

Domino High's eleventh grade Ancient History class was a large one; however, while Yuugi attended the class to study the subject, the rest of the student body attended it to study the instructor. Yuugi's gaze returned to said teacher, who was continuing his lecture on 'The Formal Writing Systems of Ancient Egypt'. Mr. Yami Atemu was almost unnaturally beautiful (yes 'beautiful' Yuugi thought, though he was hesitant to apply the term to a man); he was slightly below-average height, but his slender, chiseled body could have put the Statue of David to shame. Coupled with his flawlessly tanned skin, his slanted crimson eyes and his perfectly erratic spikes of pure black hair, it was an almost other-worldly combination that made the man impossible not to notice.

Mr. Atemu had also had an unforgettable start to his career at Domino High; one that had earned him major points with not only the student body, but with the staff as well. As a new teacher, he had been shafted to field duty during lunch hour, and had happened upon the school's star athlete, Tristan Taylor, warming up for his next basketball game... just as the captain smashed his knee against the pavement. Making use of the medical training that all teachers were required to have but few actually possessed, he had managed to clean, steady and brace the boy's leg as he waited for the ambulance to arrive. Tristan's knee later turned out to be fractured, and had he moved his leg at all, he could have risked permanent damage; but as it was, he just needed to take it easy for a month or two. The rumor that Yami Atemu had saved the star's knee and thus the school's chances in the playoffs had spread like wild fire, and had only added to the instructor's appeal.

Long ago, Yuugi had stopped being embarrassed by his crush on the gorgeous man, after realizing that he was just joining a long, long list of admirers that included the entire female population at Domino High, and a good portion of the males as well. I wonder if I should make a club, he mused, after all, Grandpa always says that colleges always look for extra curriculars. I could call it the 'Club de J'Aime Atem…U'? No, it sounds better without the 'u'. He snorted loudly as he pictured a group of elderly college admissioners trying to make sense of that particular EC, causing a couple of startled heads to turn in his direction - including that of the girl sitting on his right.

"What are you laughing at?" his best friend, Tea Gardner murmured, her clear, blue eyes curious. Tea was a very pretty girl; in fact, Yuugi had thought himself in love with her when he was thirteen. As head cheerleader and a professional dancer on the side, she was tall and lean, with short, brown hair that framed her pale, heart-shaped face perfectly. On top of that, she was just so darn nice that you couldn't help but love her. Though a couple of failed dates and awkward kisses had quickly flushed all thoughts of romance from Yuugi's system, he still adored the girl and thought of her as the sister he had never had.

"Oh, just planning the J'Aime Atem fanclub," he whispered conspiratorially back, causing the brunette to snicker in amusement. They often joked about their shared affliction, dubbed Atemu-itis, especially when the object of their attraction was right there, within their sights. "You in?"

"As long as you let me be VP," she replied, winking. Yuugi rolled his expressive eyes, but couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face.

"I could never deny you anything," he replied, sighing in mock exasperation, causing the two to break out in giggles again. They failed, however, to notice that twenty pairs of eyes were now staring at them.

"Yuugi and Tea," a deep, amused voice interrupted, replacing their shared mirth with embarrassment. "Care to share what you find so entertaining with the rest of us?"

Yuugi immediately blushed crimson, and he was sure that Tea was doing the same. 'Well sir, we were just discussing the hierarchy of your new fan club… would you like to make any suggestions? ' was probably not the answer that the instructor was looking for, and though Mr. Atemu was the definition of 'laid back', Yuugi doubted even he would let one slide. Instead, Yuugi remained wisely silent.

"Well in that case," Mr. Atemu continued good-naturedly with a smirk pulling at his thin lips, "I know its last period on a Friday, and it's beastly hot in here, but give me ten minutes and I'll send you home for the weekend. This material will be on your final, though, so try to focus."

"Sure thing, Mr. Atemu," Yuugi replied, "sorry about that."

"No worries," Mr. Atemu replied with a smile. "Now, as I was saying Egyptian scribes consistently avoided leaving large areas of blank space in their writing and would sometimes even invert the order of signs if this would result in a more aesthetically pleasing appearance. Yes, Joey?" the teacher said, gesturing to the tall, sandy blonde boy in the back row, that was waving his hand lazily in the air.

"If dey changed de order of the symbols witout tellin' anybody, den how could anyone read it?" Joey Wheeler asked with his drawling, Brooklyn accent. Joey was Domino High's bad boy and best friend to Tristan Taylor. They were something of an odd pairing, but they played off each well, usually making hilarious, though sometimes crude, jokes that amused the students and most of the teachers. That being said, he wasn't exactly known for his dedication to his education, and it was rare that he chose to participate in class discussions constructively.

"Great question, Joey," Mr. Atemu replied encouragingly, closing the lecture book on his desk. "Keep in mind that the Ancient Egyptians didn't write as we do; that is, rather than combining symbols to make sounds, they combined smaller parts to form a larger picture. That's why there are so many different symbols, as many represent an entire thought instead of a mere syllable."

"That seems kinda complicated," Joey stated, crossing his arms.

"Yes and no," Mr. Atemu said, shrugging, "it is definitely not the most efficient system we've studied, but they conveyed their meaning well enough to leave us with enough information about their culture and way of life to fill thousands of textbooks. However, as always, I encourage you all to draw your own conclusions. Now, I believe that's all we have time for today, please read pages 265-278 over the weekend to prepare for our Tuesday discussion. Oh, but don't look so glum!" Mr. Atemu exclaimed at the disgusted looks on his students' faces. "It's what you've all been waiting for: The Pharaohs of Egypt!"

Although the thought of homework still put something of a damper on things, the class whooped before breaking into an excited buzz. With a satisfied grin, Mr. Atemu dismissed the students for the weekend, the noise increasing substantially as the students gathered their belongings. Mr. Atemu clapped his hands together to remove the excess chalk, and chatted cheerfully with various students as they passed by.

"Later Mr. Atemu!" Joey exclaimed, holding out his palm. The teacher rolled his eyes in amusement but completed the high five anyway. "Have a good one!" the blonde shouted as he bolted from the classroom.

"You too Joey," Mr. Atemu replied good-naturedly, "and how many times do I have to tell you to slow down?"

"I'll remember next time!" Joey shouted cheekily, as he did after every class. With that, he disappeared through the door, his loud voice carrying back into the classroom as he greeted his friends in the hallway. Mr. Atemu shook his head in fond exasperation.

"Have a great weekend Mr. Atemu," Yuugi said as he neared the gorgeous man, flanked by Tea. "Sorry again for the interruption, won't happen again."

"Have a wonderful weekend yourself Yuugi," Mr. Atemu smiled in return, "and all is forgiven. I know the last place you want to be at three o'clock on a Friday is locked in a classroom with me."

That's what you think, Yuugi thought dreamily, focusing so intently on his own thoughts and the crimson eyes in front of him that he forget to censor his own speech. So, rather than a cool, witty retort, what came out was a rather rushed, and unbearably sappy: "I think you're a great teacher, Mr. Atemu."

Oh God, Yuugi thought, becoming more and more mortified as he realized exactly what he had said. As he heard Tea inhale and laugh under her breath, he began seriously considering jumping out of the window and burying his head in the garden outside.

"Thanks Yuugi, that means a lot." Mr. Atemu said gracefully, and to Yuugi's surprise, he appeared genuinely pleased. "I'll see you Tuesday."

"Bye," Yuugi muttered before darting to the door, his eyes planted firmly on the floor. He could hear Tea's graceful strides behind him, punctuated by the occasional girlish giggle. As they began winding through the crowded hallways, Tea could no longer restrain herself.

"You're a really great teacher!" Tea mimicked in a high pitched squeak, causing Yuugi to blush fiercely.

"I-I don't sound like that," he protested, running a nervous hand through his messy black, blonde and crimson spikes. This only caused Tea to laugh more.

"You sure do," she taunted, neatly dodging a freshman who was juggling a large pile of books and pencils.

"Do not!" Yuugi exclaimed, puffing out his cheeks in indignation. "Was it really that bad Tea?" he asked seriously, after a moment.

"Nah," she said soothingly. "I'm just teasing you, silly. I think it was kind of cute actually."

Cute, Yuugi contemplated in annoyance. That's even worse. "I don't wanna be cute," he replied petulantly.

"Well sorry sweetie!" Tea said, wrapping her arms around her best friend and resting her chin on his head. "You're cute whether you like it or not. Tiny and cute!"

"Am not!" Yuugi grumbled, shooting her a glare. Of course, he was so distracted that he failed to notice a tanned boy directly in path. The impact nearly sent Yuugi tumbling to the ground, and succeeded in knocking the wind from his chest.

"Watch it!" an angry voice snapped, as two hands shoved Yuugi against a wall of lockers. Disoriented, Yuugi took several moments to realize that he was looking into the amethyst eyes of Malik Ishtar, easily the most offensive and angry person at Domino High, and quite frankly the last person that Yuugi ever wanted to run into. Despite his small stature (though he was still bigger than Yuugi) and the fact that he kind of looked like a girl with his long, platinum hair, Malik was probably one of the most dangerous students as well.

"I'm so, so sorry," Yuugi began, only to be cut off by the irate Egyptian boy.

"I don't care about your excuses you little freak!" Malik hissed, his eyes flashing. With a flick of his wrists, he smashed Yuugi against the lockers again, with more a little force.

"Yuugi!" Tea exclaimed, stepping forward to defend her smaller friend. The hallway fell silent at her shout, as hundreds of eyes turned on the boys and hurrying feet cleared a large space around them.

"Stay out of this, bitch!" Malik swore in return, causing Yuugi to puff up despite his current predicament.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Yuugi defended, and he felt Malik's hands tighten on his shirt.

"You," Malik began, his attention returning to his original target, "should really learn when to back down."

"So should you Malik," a cocky voice said as Joey stepped forward, his hazel eyes blazing. Behind him, Tristan Taylor and a small, white haired boy watched the Egyptian fiercely. "Put Yuugi down now, and dis doesn't have ta get ugly." As if to stress his point, Joey cracked his knuckles threateningly and broadened his shoulders, emphasizing his clear height and strength advantage.

Malik glared at Joey in hatred, before dropping his hold on Yuugi's shirt. "He's not worth my time anyway," he stated coldly, before spinning on his heel and stalking away. The blonde's eyes burned a hole into Malik's retreating back for several more moments, and Yuugi could tell that Joey was considering whether or not to go after him.

"Man, I hate dat bastard," he grumbled, clearly choosing the later, before switching his gaze to Yuugi. "You all right der Yuugi? Ryou came an' got me as soon as he heard Malik yellin' at ya," he continued, gesturing to the small, white haired boy on his right, Yuugi's other best friend, Ryou Bakura.

"Yeah, thanks Joey," Yuugi replied shakily in return, massaging the spot where Malik's hands had been mere moments before. "He just surprised me, that's all."

"No problem buddy," Joey said with a grin, shaking his shaggy hair like a dog ridding water from its fur. "Let me know if he tries anything again, will ya? I'm dyin' ta teach that creep a lesson."

Yuugi smiled back, but chose not to answer. While it was nice having someone offering to protect him, he was not a violent person and he knew what Joey was capable of - he wouldn't wish that on anybody, even someone as cruel as Malik.

In middle school, he was often picked on because of his size and his unnatural aptitude for gaming. Yuugi had never lost a game, be it jacks, chess, pinball, or his favorite, Duel Monsters. However, he'd been unfortunate enough one day to play Joey and thoroughly trounce him; that was when things started getting rough. There are many things that Joey was good at, but losing was not one of them; he seemed to take Yuugi's victory personally. From that day on, Yuugi became a victim of Joey's and even occasionally Tristan's abuse, and while the boys never physically hurt him, their cruel words cut just as deeply. Joey had even convinced some of the other, bigger boys to taunt him every once and awhile. Yuugi knew now that bullying was a normal part of growing up, but he was glad that those dark days of crying himself to sleep had passed. By about tenth grade, it seemed as though everyone had grown up enough to realize that bullying was pointless and juvenile, and Joey was even friendly with him now; still, Yuugi never thought he'd see the day that childhood tormentor would actually volunteer to become his defender.

"Thanks again for your help Joey," Yuugi said gratefully, straightening the wrinkles from his shirt. "Have a great weekend."

"Yep, see ya Monday," Joey said cheerfully, as he and Tristan walked passed and continued down the hall way. Gradually the gap around Yuugi lessened and the silence dissipated. Yuugi was sure, however, that everyone was still talking about what had just transpired.

"Geez Yuugi," Tea murmured quietly, "that was close. Are you okay?"

"Yeah no kidding!" Yuugi replied, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm fine, but that could have gone really badly."

"Tell me about it," said a quiet voice, with traces of a British accent. "Thank God Joey was nearby." Yuugi looked over at the pale white face of Ryou Bakura, whose doe brown eyes were still wide with concern. "I'm glad you're all right, Yuugi," the small boy continued, with a small smile.

"Thanks to you, Ryou!" Yuugi said thankfully, pulling his friend into a quick hug. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't grabbed Joey!"

"Been pounded into a pulp probably," Ryou retorted honestly, as was his way. Ryou was generally quiet and rational, but when he chose to speak, he always said exactly what was on his mind, though he sometimes came across as brutal. More importantly, he was incredibly brilliant and insightful, so anything he did say was worth listening to, even if you didn't want to hear it.

Yuugi had known Ryou since he was four; their parents were archaeologists and had met on a dig in Egypt. Upon realizing that they both had sons that were the same age and living in Japan, Mrs. Motou and Mrs. Bakura had immediately gotten on the phone and set up a play date via the boy's respective guardians; in Yuugi's case his Grandfather, and in Ryou's case, his aunt. The two had hit it off, and been best friends ever since. It was a good thing too, for Yuugi was the only company that Ryou had, what with his parents away and his aunt rarely around; it had lead Ryou to have a cynical view of the world and an expectation that anyone he cared for would eventually leave him. Yuugi had been the constant in his life since he was a child, and was therefore the only person that he had really trusted, though he had eventually warmed up to Tea as well. This by no means made Ryou unpleasant; it merely meant that it took a lot of effort to befriend him.

"Ryou's right," Tea agreed solemnly, "that Malik boy's bad news. Was he always like that?" she asked suddenly. "I don't really remember him in middle school."

"No, he used to be really nice," Yuugi replied as the three began walking along the tiled hallways towards their lockers. Luckily, they shared a home room, so all of them were beside each other. "He was kind of quiet, but not always alone and miserable like he is now. I wonder what happened?"

"Surely you must remember," Ryou said softly, "that scandal with his sister and father? It was around that time that Malik started isolating himself. They were all he had, after all - his mother died when he was a baby."

Realization dawned on Yuugi at Ryou's reminder. Ishizu Ishtar was Malik's sister, and had been in her final year of high school when Yuugi, Ryou and Tea had been in seventh grade. He remembered that she was extremely beautiful, with long, shiny black hair and naturally tanned skin. However, he had completely forgotten the scandal that had ruined the Ishtar name, both in Domino and in the business world.

"Oh, you mean when Ishizu disappeared, and we all later learned that she'd dropped out of school and ran away with that older man?" Tea asked, as she suddenly remembered the tabloids. Domino Daily had posted the story for weeks, first portraying Ishizu as the latest unfortunate victim of a kidnapping, and later as a gold digging whore who destroyed her influential father's reputation in the business world.

"Older man?" Ryou said as the friends reached their respective lockers and opened them. "That's putting it lightly: he was seventy two! And Mr. Ishtar was absolutely furious. He wound up in jail six months later for drinking in public and various other petty crimes. I also heard that the inmates did a number on him."

"You mean they beat him up?" Yuugi asked, horrified, pausing in his book packing.

"A very wealthy and famous man in a communal jail cell surrounded by thieves, murderers and the general scum of Domino's underbelly?" Ryou listed, shoving his things into his backpack before sliding the lock closed on his locker. "I'm afraid Mr. Ishtar was like a lamb in a lion's den."

"And when he got out, he went completely berserk," Ryou finished robotically, as if reading the information from a newspaper, "he sold his business for nothing, began muttering nonsensically to his deceased wife, and was eventually admitted into an asylum. As far as I know, he's still there."

"Wow," Tea said softly, as she too finished gathering her textbooks and closed her locker. "It almost makes you feel bad for Malik. He's gone through so much."

"He did try to hurt Yuugi though," Ryou reminded her, his normally soft voice going hard. "Harming others, especially Yuugi, is uncalled for."

"He's lashing out," Yuugi said simply, closing his locker with a click. "It's probably the only way he knows how." Ryou still looked unconvinced, which caused Yuugi to laugh. "I know I'll never persuade you once you've made up your mind, so let's agree to disagree okay?"

Ryou smiled softly, before nodding his head. Yuugi's grinned toothily as his friend's chocolate eyes returned to their usual warmth, before adding, "Besides, we've got a whole weekend to enjoy! Let's not hang around here any longer!"

With all of the excitement of a kid in a candy shop, Yuugi darted towards the doors, followed closely by his two best friends.


	2. Chapter 1

LIN NOTES: So I got inspired this weekend and managed to get this together much sooner than I had imagined. Hopefully you find it entertaining, I certainly enjoyed writing it!

Secondly, a big thanks to my readers and reviewers. I would like to clear up two quick points before this story progresses, so that there aren't any "bad" surprises for you later on. The first is that Yuugi's character is pretty shallow and cliche at the moment - this is on purpose. His development is a huge component of this story - right now, I picture him as 'the Yuugi that would have been if he'd never solved the Millennium Puzzle.' The other point is that, once again, this fic is listed under the fantasy genre for a reason. We're going to start seeing some magic and overall 'impossible' stuff really, really soon.

If you have any questions, I'll answer them as best as I can without giving too much away... because that would just be no fun!

So, without further ado...

-Pulled-

Chapter One: Other Points of View

It was past midnight, and the shadows had long ago lengthened into near nothingness as the moon's glow became muted by thick, gray clouds. Rain thudded against the metal roof of the riverside warehouse, sounding as though a team of wild horses was making its way along it. A figure cloaked in black made its way through one of the metal side doors that's lock had long ago rusted and been broken off. With the smallest pressure, the door creaked open, revealing nothing beyond the darkness housed within it.

As the figure slipped through the door, the contents of the warehouse became clearer; it was mostly filled with piles of empty wooden crates, their precious contents long ago removed, and bits of hay were strewn along the floor. The woman, for it was definitely a female if the graceful walk and tapered waist were any indication, tilted her head as a rustling was heard high above, but quickly stopped. Suddenly, a cold voice broke the eerie silence.

"What are you doing here? And how did you find me?" a male voice asked harshly, from somewhere above. When silence greeted his answer, he continued, "Last time I saw you, you said, and I quote, 'I'm gone for good.' So I'll ask you again: what are you doing here?"

The cloaked woman's gaze finally fell onto a large pile of crates at the far end of the warehouse, located beneath a large window. The boxes were arranged into some sort of makeshift throne, two crates resting on top of a third to make a back rest. In the dull light caused by the erratic lightning, she was just able to make out a vague, human outline seated in the makeshift chair, limbs cast haphazardly around.

"I am so sorry that I had to leave you," her lilting voice replied softly, "it was the hardest thing I ever did. As for how I found you, you always used to come here when you were upset. Though from what I hear, that's more often nowadays."

"Fuck you," the male replied chillingly, "how dare you preach to me after so many years. I was done with you the moment you walked out that door. I begged you to stay, but instead, you chose him over me. Now I'll ask you one more time: why the fuck are you here?"

"I'm so sorry," the woman said again, and indeed, grief poured into her voice. Behind her dark hood, tears leaked from her blue eyes. "Please, come down, and allow me to explain!"

"It's been six years," the man replied coldly, "what you could possibly have left to explain?"

"Please come down," she pleaded again. "I know these years have been hard on you, something that is my fault and that I can never undo, but I can at least make you understand why. Please. I love you." To her surprise, she saw the shadow rise gracefully to his feet, and in several quick, practiced motions, he had hopped down from his perch along a path of crates.

"Talk," the man ordered sharply, as he finally reached the hard floor. With a cat-like stalk, he walked towards the cloaked woman, his features becoming clearer with each step. Eventually, he stopped several feet from the female and crossed his arms.

"Not here," the woman said, causing the male to stiffen. "I don't mean not now, I just mean not here," she corrected quickly. The male relaxed slightly, nodding in assent.

"Where?" he asked gruffly.

"I have a car parked outside," the female said simply, gesturing to the metal door through which she had just entered.

"Fine," the male said, turning on his heel and walking towards the door. "Are you coming or not?" he hissed impatiently.

"Of course," the woman replied, and with a bowed head, the pair made their way outside into the rainstorm and over towards a silver Sedan. The male wrenched the passenger-side door open, causing a bright light to flick on above the dashboard, and threw his body onto the black, leather seat. Defiantly, he shook his hair and grinned maliciously as rain water sprayed throughout the car's expensive interior. The action earned no reaction from the female, who calmly pulled open the door on the other side and slid gracefully into the driver's seat. She closed the door with a click and turned to face the man, whose face she could now clearly see.

"It is time," the woman said, finally lowering the hood of her black cloak, "for me to tell you everything."

-o-

The weekend was uneventful but passed as it usually did - with flying speed. Yuugi had spent most of Monday worrying about his next confrontation with Malik in afternoon Phys. Ed, the only class that they shared. It seemed, however, that Yuugi had spent the day worrying about nothing, as Malik hadn't bothered to show up for class that day. Feeling slightly more relaxed about the whole situation, Yuugi returned to school on Tuesday morning with a smile on his face.

"You look frightfully cheerful for eight o'clock in the morning," Ryou mumbled as he met Yuugi in their customary spot by the school gate. The white haired boy clutched a cup of steaming coffee in his pale hands, and his brown eyes were squinting tiredly. For as long as Yuugi could remember, Ryou had loathed mornings, and his increased surliness often showed it.

"Well, it looks as though Malik isn't still out to kill me," Yuugi said happily, explaining how, if the blonde had been looking to continue their fight, he would have done so yesterday during gym class. Instead, the boy hadn't even bothered to show up! Ryou listened carefully, taking long droughts of his strong, black coffee with a thoughtful look on his face.

"It looks as though Joey did his job then," Ryou answered, licking his thin lips. "Not all that surprising as that boy would put the fear of God into anyone."

"What boy?" Tea's voice asked, as she approached the gate from the other side. Her brown hair was pulled away from her face in a bow, and she was dressed in her green cheerleading uniform. Though she usually had early morning practice, she never failed to greet her two best friends at the school gate, as had been the tradition since they were freshmen.

"Oh, just Joey. It looks like he's frightened Malik off," Yuugi replied in relief.

"Good," Tea said. "Joey can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but it's worth it if he keeps that evil bastard away from you." Yuugi was surprised; he'd never heard Tea swear or speak so rudely about someone before. He supposed she was still a bit sore about being called a 'bitch'; she'd never really taken insults well, especially from people who were threatening her friends.

The first period bell rang loudly from somewhere nearby, causing Yuugi to jump from his thoughts. "Ready for History with a really great teacher?" Tea asked cheekily, causing Yuugi to groan and Ryou to look bemused.

"I feel as though I've missed something," Ryou commented, as Yuugi blushed crimson and dropped his violet eyes to the grass. What with all of the commotion with Malik and the thrill of the weekend, Yuugi had completely forgotten his last conversation with the incredibly gorgeous History teacher.

"Only Yuugi embarrassing himself in front of Mr. Atemu," Tea laughed, causing Ryou to roll his eyes. Despite the fact that Ryou had chosen Law over Ancient History, it was impossible to attend Domino High and not know of the famous Mr. Atemu. In fact, if memory served Yuugi correctly, Ryou had been the first of the three to hear about the teacher's appointment and subsequently, the incident with Tristan Taylor.

"You-you said it wasn't so bad!" Yuugi stammered, now slightly worried. Tea immediately ruffled his tri-coloured hair affectionately and gave him a swift peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry!" Tea said confidently, "I'm sure he's forgotten all about it by now. Now, come on you two, or we're going to be late!"

Mr. Atemu was leaning back in his wooden desk chair as the classroom slowly filled up, his tanned hands casually supporting his head and his crimson eyes closed in relaxation. Of course, he looked like a damn model, Yuugi noted as he slunk into his seat next to Tea. Yuugi's eyes never strayed from the instructor, even as Joey shouted a loud 'good morning Yuugi' to him from across the room, to which he replied distractedly but nonetheless enthusiastically.

As the last of the students noisily took their seats, Mr. Atemu's angular eyes flashed open and he grinned cheerfully at the class. "Good morning everyone," he said, as he stood from his desk and made his way to the front of the class room. "I trust that you all had a wonderful weekend and had a chance to read through those few pages that I assigned last week. I've decided that I want to try something a little different for today's class, to give you a chance to show me what you've learned so far. So, I've set up what I would like to call an 'Egyptian Roleplay'; I'm going to assign some of you to a specific character and you are going to act out the part. The rest of you are free to enjoy the class from your seats, but I expect you to participate and ask questions."

The class looked skeptical at his announcement, causing Mr. Atemu to flash his signature smirk. "Oh I apologize," he said, covering his heart dramatically with his hand to convey his regret, "I forgot that I was dealing with the eleventh grade. If this exercise is far too… childish for such mature students as yourselves, I suppose we could spend the next hour and a half reading through the text book. Of course, I still need to evaluate you, but a Pop Quiz should accomplish that just as well."

The class immediately broke out into loud protests. "All right, all right," Mr. Atemu said laughing, holding his hands up in surrender, "then I suppose you shall just have to put aside your maturity for one class. Now, I'm going to assign some roles. Let's start with the most important, shall we? The Pharaoh of Egypt!"

"I've totally got dis sir!" Joey yelled, punching the air with his fist. Mr. Atemu looked slightly taken aback by the usually dozing boy's enthusiasm, but smiled nonetheless.

"All right Joey, please come up to the front of class and stand by me," the instructor said, indicating the floor to his right. Joey immediately jumped from his seat and marched up to the front of the class room. "Now, we have a couple of more positions to fill; we need a vizier, a High Priest, and a peasant or a slave."

"Wait, Mr. Atemu," Joey said quickly, "I'm the Pharaoh, ain't it part 'a my job to pick 'em out?"

Mr. Atemu chuckled and replied, "Getting into character already I see. Why not, my Pharaoh; choose away!"

"All right!" Joey grinned, "I want Tristan as my vizz-eer, uh Tea can be my slave 'cause she drives me nuts-" Yuugi laughed inwardly at his female friend's outraged cry, "-and…" Joey cast his hazel eyes around, and Yuugi tried to shrink down in his plastic chair. Not me, not me, not me! he thought desperately but alas-

"-Yuug, you can be my High Priest!" Joey finished, pointing a finger in Yuugi's direction.

"The Pharaoh has spoken," Mr. Atemu announced, "all right: Yuugi, Tea and Tristan, please make your way up to the front and stand by Joey." For the first time that day, Mr. Atemu turned the full force of his crimson gaze on Yuugi, and it took all of the will power that short boy had not to blush. Instead, he ignored the teacher by choosing a spot on the wall directly above Joey's head and stared at it intently. Of course, this diverted his attention from other more pressing needs, such as walking, and Yuugi found himself tripping slightly over a backpack someone had accidentally left in the narrow pathway. Luckily though, nobody commented, so Yuugi supposed that it had gone unnoticed.

"Okay," Mr. Atemu said, as the three remaining students arrived at the front of the room. "This is going to be a question and answer exercise: I'm going to ask you a question about yourself, and you are going to answer it, in character, to the best of your ability. The rest of the class, feel free to ask them any questions as they come up. So let's start with Joey - as Pharaoh, it is only fair that he should go first."

"All right!" Joey exclaimed, rubbing his palms together. "Hit me wit it!"

"Let's start with an easy one," Mr. Atemu said, crossing his arms calmly in front of him. "What is your name?"

Joey thought for a moment, before his face lit up. "I have a bunch of 'em," he replied, surprising the class. "Five, I tink. So, it depends on who wants 'ta know."

"Well done Joey," Mr. Atemu said with a smile. "It looks like you did your homework..."

" - for a change," Tea added under her breath, clearly still sore about being chosen as the slave. Yuugi giggled into his hand and Joey fixed her with an icy glare.

"'Ey! Slave!" Joey growled. "Shut ya face or I'll send ya to the dungeons! In fact, Tristan, my fait'ful viz-eer... git her!"

"Now, now Pharaoh," Mr. Atemu chuckled, raising his hands placatingly and casually blocking Tristan's path to Tea, "let's not be too rash hmm? After all, a king is nothing without his subjects."

"Keh," Joey exhaled, crossing his arms. "Fine, she can stay fer now."

"You are too kind," Mr. Atemu replied with amusement. "So Tea, now that the Pharaoh has agreed to keep you, care to tell us all how you came to be a slave?"

"Well, as everyone knows, there's a lot of ways someone can become a slave in Egypt," Tea began, tapping her lip thoughtfully with her index finger. "I could be paying off a debt, I could be a bad guy that was captured, but in this case, I was just born into it."

"Very good, though I also want to add that many slaves were prisoners of war from the Pharaoh's conquests," Mr. Atemu added. "Now how about... Yuugi? We haven't heard from you yet. Would you care to share your role with the class, O' High Priest?"

"Well, I'm the chief priest of the gods... so I take care of the gods and serve their needs. I was picked by the Pharaoh Joey, and I'm also one of his advisors... though I dunno know if he'd listen to me or not - but I guess he kinda should, since my priests and I are responsible for his coronation..." Yuugi chimed, nibbling adorably on his lip as he occasionally paused to remember what came next.

"Excellent Yuugi," Mr. Atemu said, nodding in approval. "Yes, Miho?"

"Could priests get married?" a female voice questioned from the back. Yuugi expected Mr. Atemu to answer, however his teacher said nothing... just looked him expectantly.

"Um, yeah, I think so," Yuugi said, "I think they - I mean we - are actually encouraged to have kids and stuff."

"Indeed you are. High Priests were very much political and religious figures, but most also maintained happy family lives," Mr. Atemu informed the class. "Tristan, care to tell us how you are different from Yuugi, as the vizier?"

"Well, I don't have to be a priest, right?" Tristan said. "I mean, the Pharaoh still appoints me and everything, but I don't have to be religious like Yuugi, just loyal... and I get to do cool stuff, like making laws."

"Excellent work you four," Mr. Atemu replied in approval. "Well done. Now that we have an overview of each role, I would like to open the floor to questions..."

-o-

Though the class had been initially skeptical, it turned out to be one of the most engaging lessons that they had ever had. It was brilliant work on Mr. Atemu's part, Yuugi congratulated inwardly, as the whole class was enjoying themselves so much that they were accidentally learning stuff along the way... so much so that when the four roleplayers were finally asked to return to their seats, the entire class erupted in an enthusiastic round of applause.

"Before I let you go for the day, I would like to share some wonderful news," Mr. Atemu said, as the bell rang loudly overhead. "I have just received approval for a little field trip this Friday to the Everest Bath Springs. I know we aren't due to start Ancient Rome for a another couple of weeks, however I thought that this would be an excellent opportunity for you to explore some of the technologies used by the Romans, though this is, in fact, just a replica. I'm going to pass out some permission forms, please have a parent or guardian sign them and return them to me by Thursday. And Joey, try to get a real signature this time; though your forgery skills are admirable, I can't let it slide again." With a collective whoop of enthusiasm (and quiet protests from Joey), the class clamored to the front of the room to pick up their permission forms.

"Yuugi, would you mind staying back for a moment?" Mr. Atemu inquired politely, as Yuugi reached for his permission form. Oh shit, Yuugi thought, does he want to talk to me about what I said on Friday? He threw a desperate glance at Tea, whose blue eyes widened but she just shrugged her shoulders.

"There's nothing I can do," she mouthed, before gathering her things and shoving them into her backpack. She turned on her heel, her green cheerleading skirt swirling, before fleeing the classroom before Yuugi could even blink. Feeling his chest clamp in panic, Yuugi did his best to appear cool. With a casual hop, he took a seat on top of one of the desks in the front row, directly beside Mr. Atemu's desk. Looking at the instructor, he put on his best innocent eyes and waited for him to speak.

"I wanted to talk to you about last Friday," Mr. Atemu began, standing up and walking to the front of his own desk, before jumping up on top and mirroring Yuugi's position. Yuugi paled. Oh fuck, he though, play it cool, play it cool. He swallowed nervously.

"Friday?" Yuugi squeaked. "W-What are you saying about? I mean, talking about…" he trailed off, thoroughly ashamed of himself. This was quite possibly the most embarrassing moment of his life.

"I heard you had a rough time with Malik Ishtar," Mr. Atemu said, his eyebrows clenching. "I just wanted to make sure that you were all right." Yuugi breathed out a sigh of relief. Oh. That. Now that he knew that he had worried for nothing, Yuugi finally registered what his teacher had asked. It was kind of nice; he got the impression that Mr. Atemu was asking because he actually cared about the answer, not just out of customary concern the way most teachers did. Of course, that could have just been wishful thinking.

"Oh," Yuugi finally replied. "Yeah, um, Joey actually helped me out there; he kind of intervened before things could get out of hand. How did you know by the way?"

Mr. Atemu chuckled. "Students!" he reprimanded jokingly. "Despite what you may think, we teachers hear just as much gossip as you do. Nothing is safe in the halls of Domino High."

"Is that why you keep to yourself so much?" Yuugi asked curiously, before realizing that he had, once again, completely overstepped his boundaries. To his surprise, however, Mr. Atemu nodded.

"Precisely," the teacher answered simply. Feeling slightly braver, Yuugi pressed on, running a pale hand along the surface of the desk as he chose his next words carefully.

"Seems kind of unfair," he finally joked, though he secretly meant every word. Mr. Atemu looked slightly taken aback, his crimson eyes widening slightly. His face froze for a moment, before suddenly relaxing again. In fact, Yuugi saw a tiny smile pull at the side of his teacher's thin lips.

"Perhaps you're right," Mr. Atemu said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Okay Yuugi Motou. If I were to divulge something, what would it be? Keep in mind that if I hear any hint of what I say in the student gossip mill, then I will know exactly who it came from."

Yuugi was nervous all over again. This was by far the longest discussion he had ever had with Mr. Atemu, and now that he had this one chance to figure something out about the man, but he had to ask something that made him sound intelligent. Wait, he mused, am I trying to impress him? Oh, the pressure!

Suddenly, he realized that he hadn't spoken in several moments, and the silence was stretching on. "What do you like to do?" he asked desperately, as nothing better came to mind. "I mean," he clarified, "what do you like to do when you aren't teaching?"

Mr. Atemu looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you mean… what are my hobbies?" he asked, tapping his pointed chin with his finger. Yuugi nodded, and suddenly wondered if he'd get a truthful answer, or any answer at all.

"Well, I've always like playing games," Mr. Atemu replied honestly, if a bit vaguely. Yuugi, however, could have cared less, as he happily perked up at the mention of a shared pass time. He hadn't expected someone like Mr. Atemu to be interested in something so-so… normal!

"No way," he said excitedly, "me too!"

"You sound kind of surprised," Mr. Atemu noted, smirking.

"It just seems kind of… nerdy for someone like you," Yuugi answered, before clapping a hand over his mouth. Luckily, his instructor apparently found his comment funny.

"Oh Yuugi," he said between chuckles, "if only everyone had your honesty, the world would be a far better place."

"Am I allowed to ask what games you play?" Yuugi asked suddenly, fully expecting to be told that he'd already had his one question. Once again, his teacher surprised him with an answer.

"A little bit of everything to be honest," Mr. Atemu replied. "But I prefer games that involve strategies and reading your opponent, rather just luck or quick reflexes. Chess is one of my favorites."

"Do you play Duel Monsters?" Yuugi inquired. Duel Monsters was by far Yuugi's favorite game, and he was actually pretty good at it - he hadn't lost in years. When he had been in Middle School, he had played in many tournaments, and had been crowned Domino's undisputed King of Games. However, as high school and his work load picked up, he'd been forced to abandon competitive dueling to focus on his studies. He still table-top dueled from time to time with his grandfather, but it was nothing like the fancy, high tech duels that he remembered. He expected the technology was probably even more advanced now.

"Can't say that I have," Mr. Atemu replied, "though I have heard of it." Yuugi was suddenly very pleased with himself; maybe he could teach Mr. Atemu something for a change!

"Well, my grandfather owns a Game Shop in the South end of the city - the Turtle Game Shop, actually. I know the name's a little weird, but he asked me to name it back when I was a kid and obsessed with the Ninja Turtles!" Yuugi rambled happily.

"The Ninja Turtles, my favorite!" Mr. Atemu joked - or was it a joke? Yuugi couldn't tell, but decided to continue his story.

"Anyways, you should totally come by if you're ever in the area. I could get you a discount!" he offered with a blush.

"I will definitely keep that in mind," Mr. Atemu replied with a smile, red eyes flicking unconsciously to the round clock on the classroom wall. "Oh!" Mr. Atemu said with a start, "I apologize Yuugi, I've kept you for longer than I intended to... It looks like I've made you late for your class. Who's your teacher? I'll write you up a late slip."

"Ms. Tanner," Yuugi replied, "Chemistry."

"Yuck," Mr. Atemu said, before he could stop himself. Yuugi burst out laughing,

"Yeah, it's not my favorite subject either," Yuugi agreed honestly.

"What would your favorite subject be?" Mr. Atemu asked curiously he hopped down from his desk and began filling out a pink late slip from a thick booklet.

"Ancient History," Yuugi said before he could stop himself. Oh nice work, idiot, he admonished inwardly, will you ever have a normal conversation with the man without putting your foot in your mouth? Luckily, Mr. Atemu didn't notice that Yuugi had blushed bright red... that or the teacher had just kindly decided not to comment on it.

"Mine too," Mr. Atemu replied with a smile, ripping the completed late slip from the booklet and passing it off to Yuugi. "Although I did always enjoy Art as well."

"Yeah, I like Art... but I'm not the best at it," Yuugi agreed, running one hand sheepishly through his hair, and using the other to stuff the late slip into his blazer pocket. "Tea's amazing at Art, but none of the stuff I make looks that great."

"Well that's the wonderful thing about art," Mr. Atemu replied kindly, leaning casually against the desk behind him. "It's beauty is in the eye of its beholder." Yuugi smiled genuinely at his instructor's sincerity. Mr. Atemu was just so... nice.

"'Thanks Mr. Atemu," he said happily, jumping down from his perch and walking towards the classroom door. "Bye sir," he shouted, peering over his shoulder with a grin. "Can't wait for the field trip - I'll see you Friday!"

"Until then, Yuugi."


	3. Chapter 2

**LIN NOTES:** Whew, this one is massive. I was going to cut it in two, but figured go big or go home.

So a few notes. First of all, there have been some concerns about cliches. Yes, there are a few intentional ones. I think cliches are a great starting point for a character, because they're there for a reason - because often, that's the way the character behaves in the series. However, I like to take those cliches and build on them, and develop the characters in a way that I hope they would've naturally grown had then been thrust into this situation.

That being said, I can actually promise that we are going to get an original twist very, very soon. ;)

In other news, and for any readers of Maelstrom, a new chapter is in the works. Pulled, as a rule, is easier to write because it's currently less complex. Maelstrom, on the other hand, has a ton of plot intricacies that I need to write correctly, or else they're not going to play out properly later on. SO - the point is, you'll see an update soon, but Pulled as a whole will likely be updated more frequently.

Finally, thank you to my readers and reviewers. I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say as Pulled progresses some more!

**-Pulled-**

**Chapter Two: Water Fall **

To say that the week had crawled by would the biggest understatement of the century; other than the brief ten minutes before Wednesday's gym class that Yuugi had spent pointlessly worrying about Malik's retribution - that never came - the seventeen year old had thought of Friday's impending field trip... and nothing else. Every time he replayed Tuesday's _successful_ conversation with Mr. Atemu in his mind, he felt butterflies dance around in his stomach - and though the rational pat of his brain recognized that crushing on his teacher was just about the most common right-of-passage-that-never-comes-to-pass ever, he decided to relish the feeling while it lasted.

_I know that I'll back on this in about ten years and laugh, _he thought as he approached his customary morning spot near the school gate, to wait for Ryou and Tea. _But honestly, who cares? Crushing on someone is just... fun!_ And it was fun and thrilling and wonderful - though admittedly his appetite was a little less robust than usual, but what the hell?

"Morning sweetums!" Tea chirped, dressed, for once, in her school uniform rather than her cheerleading one. The brunette was balancing a tray of coffee in one manicured hand, and was gripping three paper bags tightly in the other. "Practice got canceled this morning, but I was already awake... so I picked us up some breakfast along away. The front coffee is yours - two milks and three sugars," she reported happily, jutting her nose out playfully in front of her to indicate which was Yuugi's cup.

"Thanks Tea," Yuugi replied in amusement, though he took the entire coffee tray from her hands, sensing that she was about to lose it. Tea sighed in relief and transferred one of the paper bags to her free hand. "What's in the bags?" Yuugi inquired curiously.

"Danishes!" Tea exclaimed. "I figured, knowing you, that you didn't eat this morning... but we've got a big day ahead of us and you need to give your brain a head start."

"Keh, how did you know?" Yuugi replied sheepishly. He unconsciously made to run a hand through his spiky hair, one of his 'caught in the act' mannerisms, but quickly realized that it would be unwise, given the three scalding hot coffees still inhabiting the tray in his hand. He settled for crinkling his nose.

"Oh you can stop the 'Yuugi's-embarrassed-nose-crinkle'," Tea said playfully, cocking her thin eyebrow mischievously. "I've known you since you were four, and I know how you get when you have a crush. You eat like a mouse."

"Maybe I'm just on one of your crazy diets?" Yuugi tried innocently, causing Tea to scowl.

"Eat your croissant Yuugi," Tea deadpanned, and chuckling, Yuugi did as she bid.

"Coffee - oh thank God," Ryou's ragged voice interjected from behind Tea. The pale boy had noticeably large, purple bags under his chocolate eyes and looked like death warmed up. His uniform was characteristically rumpled, but his two best friends had learned long ago that it was futile to fix it... and now they just treated it as part of his eccentric genius charm. "Which one's mine?" he asked pointlessly, as he was already snatching the nearest cup from the tray and bringing it to his lips.

"Holy TERROR!" he screeched after taking a swig, and instantly the light brown liquid spewed from his mouth onto the ground. Tea and Yuugi cackled at his dramatic performance, nearly doubling over as he retched twice and hissed, "That's vile - Yuugi would you care to try some coffee with your sugar?"

"We-ell if you'd been more patient, I could've told you which one was yours," Yuugi replied fairly, expertly passing the tray to Ryou while simultaneously grabbing his half empty cup from Ryou's pale grip. "If anyone should be mad it's me... you dumped more than half of it!"

"Totally worth it!" Tea giggled, "I'd give up coffee for a week to see that expression on Ryou's face again!" Said boy, pale features still pinched in ill-concealed disgust, scowled playfully, and shoved his female friend gently with his shoulder. With a reluctant smile, the pale teen then carefully sniffed the remaining two coffee cups on the tray, and selected the one that smelled the strongest.

"Barbarians," he muttered, though the effect was lost in the next instant, as he brought his cup to his mouth and sighed in utter bliss.

-o-

After dropping Ryou off at his Intermediate Law class, Tea and Yuugi made their way across the neatly groomed courtyard to the staff parking lot, where Mr. Atemu had requested that the class assemble before loading onto the school buses. As they neared the large group of students already gathered, Yuugi felt his heart tighten in happy apprehension, and he began consciously scanning the crowd for Mr. Atemu's signature black hair. It didn't take long to spot the man, who, at the moment, was chatting animatedly to the bus driver. As Yuugi's violet eyes examined the man from head to toe, Yuugi heard, rather than felt, his own intake of breath.

Mr. Atemu was dressed in a way that could only be described as casually modelesque. Unlike most days when the young teacher wore some combination of slacks, a blazer, and a button down shirt, today he was dressed in figure-hugging dark wash jeans and a form-fitting navy, long sleeved shirt. He looked gorgeous as always, was Yuugi's first thought, followed by a snide, _dressing like that should be made illegal_.

"Man," Tea hissed quietly into Yuugi's ear, as the pair approached the Ancient History teacher. "I don't know how he expects us to pay attention to the architecture if he's going to show up looking like that!" There was no need for Yuugi to ask clarification about who she was talking about.

"I guess teachers are allowed to dress down on field-trips?" Yuugi replied with a shrug, though his eyes never left Mr. Atemu. The teacher turned his back to them to speak with another student, and Yuugi's gaze slipped lower and lower until... suddenly it was very hot outside. "It'd be great if we got to wear normal clothes too," Yuugi added quickly, unconsciously reaching up to tug his collar away from his neck, "it's still way too warm to wear this stupid blazer..."

"It's October," Tea added skeptically, holding her skirt primly as a cool breeze brushed passed them. Traitor, Yuugi's mental voice pouted immaturely at the wind. "Maybe if, you know, you stopped blushing, you wouldn't be so warm?" Tea mentioned casually.

Yuugi could feel his face darken even further, if that was possible, and he diverted his eyes down to glare at the ground. "You just can't feel the heat because you get to wear a skirt," he mumbled, suddenly fascinated by the individual blades of grass beneath his feet.

"Yuugi," Tea replied solemnly, which was never a good sign, "Domino High is all about equality. I'm sure we could talk to Principal Figgins about fitting you for a skirt, if you'd really like one."

"Gee, thanks Tea," Yuugi bit back acidly, with a little more volume than necessary.

"For what it's worth," she said with a smirk, "I think you would look beautiful. Your legs really are one of your best features, you should show them off more often..."

"Tea!" Yuugi growled, scowling darkly as she burst into giggles.

"And good morning to you as well, Sunshine," a deep voice greeted warmly, washing over Yuugi like a river of hot chocolate. Yuugi's head popped up, and suddenly, the sleepy butterflies in his stomach woke up and began flittering around brilliantly. "How are you this morning, Yuugi?" Mr. Atemu asked sincerely, his crimson eyes twinkling. Yuugi felt his brain flatline.

Tea loyally waited for a moment, giving Yuugi his chance to answer, and then equally loyally came to his rescue when she realized that at this point, even if he did manage to get a sound past his lips, it would probably sound like he was speaking a foreign language. "We're great!" she fumbled awkwardly, "just um, discussing uniform options!"

"Yeah I'm going to wear a skirt," Yuugi added dumbly, even as his conscience gaped inwardly at the sudden disconnect between his mind and his mouth. What the fuck did you just say?

"That would... certainly be making a statement," Mr. Atemu replied diplomatically, though his eyes showed obvious confusion and curiosity. Yuugi mentally prepared his funeral instructions - hopefully he would have time to pass them off to Tea and Ryou before he died of mortification.

"Oh you know Yuugi, always cracking jokes on Friday mornings," Tea chirped, holding her closed hand out to fist bump her smaller friend, who only just managed to return it in time. "It's been a long week - so his humor's a little dry at this point."

"Of course," Mr. Atemu chuckled kindly, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Say no more. When I was a student, Fridays felt longer than eternity. I understand that you must be ready for the weekend Yuugi, however, do try to stay with us for a few more hours. I really do think that you, especially, will find this field-trip quite fascinating. The ancient Romans were quite remarkable, and really knew their stuff... in their prime, they were completely unmatched technologically."

"That, and there will probably be a pop quiz on it next Tuesday?" Yuugi asked slyly, having finally regained enough of his mental footing to put together a coherent thought.

Mr. Atemu winked, and then whispered conspiratorially: "There just might be. Now, if you two wouldn't mind getting on the bus," he added in his normal voice, clapping Yuugi lightly on the shoulder, "we can hopefully arrive at the Everest Springs before noon!"

"Sure!" Yuugi and Tea exclaimed simultaneously, earning them both a dazzling smile, before their teacher wandered off to finish rounding up the students. Tea made to walk towards the bus, but paused slightly when she realized that Yuugi hadn't moved it.

"Yuugi, what is it?" she asked curiously, resting her dainty hand on his shoulder, her touch a ghostly reminder of Mr. Atemu's.

"Please tell me that I just imagined telling Mr. Atemu that I wanted to start wearing a skirt?" Yuugi asked hopefully, his purple eyes slightly wild as he replayed the conversation in his mind.

"Uhhh nope," Tea replied with a slight shake of her head, her ponytail bouncing with the motion. "But for what it's worth, he probably thought it was cute!"

"Cute?" Yuugi asked in distaste. Oh that word was really starting to bug him...

"Oh come on," Tea said, rolling her expressive blue eyes, before she snatched his arm up in her hand and began dragging him onto the bus. "We need to move now or we aren't going to get a seat together!"

"Okay," Yuugi sighed, and he began following her out of his own free will. The two walked in amicable silence for a minute, hopping on the bus with a swift greeting to the driver, and then taking two seats near the front.

Yuugi could tell that Tea was deep in thought by the time that the bus had pulled out of the driveway - she hadn't said a word, she had only pressed a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "What is it?" he finally asked.

"I wonder how Mr. Atemu would look in a skirt?" was the reply, causing Yuugi to squawk loudly, then blush as the nearby passengers turned to stare at him curiously.

Still, that didn't stop the image of long, tanned legs from staying burned in his mind for the rest of the drive to the Everest Springs.

-o-

Mr. Atemu had been right, Yuugi finally admitted around mid-afternoon. Even though Yuugi knew that he'd listen to any lecture his favorite teacher gave, just to enjoy the sound of his voice, the teen found himself growing more and more enthralled by the content.

Even though the Everest Springs was just a replication of the great city of Bath, the builders had recreated the architecture flawlessly. The entire complex was made up of a series of temples, each artfully carved to match the original. The temples were about three stories high, and most had large, ornate balconies, supported by thick pillars of stone. The temples, however, were only the opening act to the main event, Yuugi realized, as he peered over the nearest balcony to the ground below.

Each temple surrounded what had come to be known as the Great Bath. The Great Bath was absolutely massive - about the length of an Olympic swimming pool - and was filled to the brim with stagnant water and no small amount of algae. Most remarkably, however, was the fact that the entire pool had once been heated.

"... by the Caldarium. which we saw earlier this morning," Mr. Atemu lectured animatedly, waving a tanned hand in the direction of the large bath below. "Furthermore, you may have noticed the statues of various Roman gods and goddesses surrounding the bath. The Romans were very religious, and even incorporated aspects of their beliefs into everyday rituals, such as eating and bathing. In fact, we will pass through the Museum on our way out, to view some genuine relics found during the expeditions of the bathhouse in England..."

Yuugi once again lost himself in the sound of Mr. Atemu's voice, allowing his legs to lean casually against the decorated balcony in front of him, supporting his weight. Gazing out at the complex, he allowed his violet eyes to cast around at the various aspects that Mr. Atemu highlighted, leaning forward to rest his elbow against the stone and propping up his forearm to support his chin.

"Careful, you don't want to fall in!" Tea joked with a mock-stern voice, coming up beside Yuugi, before mimicking his position like a true hypocrite. "This place is great eh?" she chirped, closing her eyes in relaxation as a ray of sunshine fell on her face, glinting off of her silky hair like a halo. "I mean, it's so beautiful. The Romans really had life figured out. It's all in the little things!"

"Yeah," Yuugi said with a smile. "I think Rome would have been a great place to live, back then. I'm not sure what I would've done without the Internet though..."

"Spoken like a true addict," Tea teased, "there's programs for that you know. Ten steps and all of that..."

"Ha," Yuugi scoffed, "Nice try on the intervention - but until you find me glued to a chair, covered in week old stains and stroking a cat, I'm happy to live out my addiction in peace, thank you!"

Tea stuck out her tongue, and cuffed him lightly on the head, causing him to laugh quietly.

"Hey, hey, there ain't no need to get physical der," a rough voice said from behind them. Yuugi and Tea turned slightly to acknowledge the arrival of Joey Wheeler, as the tall blonde-haired boy strode over confidently to the two friends. Though Yuugi had thanked the other teen for intervening with Malik on his behalf, he still felt a little bit awkward whenever Joey was around, especially since the blonde seemed to have appointed himself as Yuugi's personal protector. "Lemme know if ya need me to teach her a lesson der Yuug'!" Joey exclaimed, reinforcing his position in Yuugi's mind.

"Ha, you? Take Tea?" Tristan Taylor said, having followed his best friend through the crowd of students and tourists. Casually, he stepped in front of Tea and Yuugi, nearly blocking Joey from their view. "Please, she'd kick your ass up and down the street all day long! She could take you without ruffling her skirt," he taunted, with a boisterous laugh. As the icing on the cake, Tristan leaned forward and flicked Joey playfully on the nose, causing the blonde to growl deep in his throat.

"Whaddaya mean? She's just a girl!" Joey near-shouted indignantly, gesturing in Tea's direction. Tea squeaked in outrage, and crossed her arms across her chest. Narrowing her blue eyes, she prepared to answer, before Tristan beat her to the punch.

"Yeah, and so's Serenity. I've seen her put you in your place, and she isn't even an athlete!" Tristan teased with a scoff.

As the two continued to bicker in way that Yuugi assumed was good-naturedly, the spiky haired teen rose onto his tippy toes to whisper into Tea's ear: "Man, they really like winding each other up. It's hard to believe that they're best friends!"

"Boys will be boys," Tea retorted, "though I'm surprised that Mr. Atemu hasn't noticed. They're getting pretty loud." At her words, the pair's attention returned back to the arguing boys, who were tossing insults back and forth like a volleyball. Clearly, the argument was heating up, though both of them were still glaring at each other with ill-concealed mirth.

"Dat's it, buddy! I've had it up ta here!" Joey exclaimed, with a sharp gesture to his forehead. "Prepare ta feel tha Wrath of Wheeler!" he shouted, diving at the brunette with a smirk, clearly intending to tackle him to the ground.

Three things happened at once: Tristan stepped back tauntingly to avoid his best friend's leap, Joey's momentum propelled him forward into the next available target, and Yuugi, off balance from his whispering to Tea, literally felt his world fall out from beneath him, as his body was propelled over the edge of the balcony and into the Great Bath below.

In the moments before he hit the water, Yuugi felt like he was falling in slow motion. He saw Joey's expression change from mock anger to real shock, he heard Tea's piercing scream... and unconsciously, his eyes searched out the pair that he most wanted to see...

... but before he had the chance to realize exactly whose eyes those were, Yuugi felt his body hit the water with a loud crack that distantly reminded him of a bulldozer hitting a street lamp, and he knew no more.

-o-

The world came back to Yuugi in pieces. The first thing that he was aware of was the fact that he was cold - _no wait, _he thought, _not just cold. Wet._ He was definitely wet. _The question is, why am I wet? Did I fall asleep in the shower?_

The next thing he realized was that his chest _hurt_. No, hurt wasn't a strong enough word for it. His chest _burned_, burned like someone had forced a hot poker down his throat and the damn thing had melted into a pool of molten metal and coated the inside of his lungs.

The final thing he realized was that it was still dark, and that he should probably open his eyes before he jumped to any more conclusions.

Gradually, Yuugi pried his eyes open, which was a lot harder than normal by the way, and he noticed one more thing. That thing happened to be a pair of wide, panicked, crimson eyes, less than a foot away from his face.

"Gyah!" Yuugi exclaimed in surprise, shifting his body away instinctively. The pressure on his stomach, which his muddled brain had mistakenly catalogued as an injury but now identified as a hand, was instantly dislodged and the pain in Yuugi's chest instantly intensified. Oww, he cringed mentally, closing his eyes until the pain died back down to an annoying throb. It was only then that he realized that someone was calling his name... and that someone sounded frantic.

"Yuugi... _Yuugi_," the bodiless voice asked, growing more and more insistent. The voice was certainly familiar...

"Yuugi, please, I need you to say something," it begged with a ragged whisper. "I need to make sure that you can understand me. Please Yuugi."

Wait. He knew that voice. Though he'd never heard it sound quite like that before.

"Mister - Mister Atemu?" Yuugi croaked in groggy confusion, wincing at the rawness of his throat. Slowly, the world around Yuugi began to focus, and his ragged mind was able to piece together the last few moments into a semi-coherent picture. Oh right, I fell about three stories into a literal cesspool, he realized, that's a slightly major thing to just gloss over there...

"Oh thank goodness, Yuugi," Mr. Atemu's deep voice replied with relief, causing Yuugi to crack his eyes open again as the words were accompanied by a warm breath of air. With a start, Yuugi realized that he was lying down on the ground, and Mr. Atemu was kneeling over him, no more than inches away. One of the man's tanned hands was carefully supporting Yuugi's neck, while the other, the one that had originally been on Yuugi's stomach, was resting on the ground beside Yuugi's head, supporting the teacher's weight. "I was so very worried about you. How do you feel, Little One?"

Usually Yuugi would have bristled at being called 'little' - it was in the same league as 'cute' in his opinion - but he was far too tired to complain. "My... chest and th-throat really hurt," he reported hoarsely, using as few words as needed to communicate his injuries. "How... did I... get out?" he asked dazedly.

"Mr. Atemu, he - he pulled you out," Tea's voice sounded from nearby. She choked a little as she spoke, which Yuugi knew meant that she had been crying. As if to highlight his thoughts, she gave a little hiccough at the end of her sentence.

"D-don't cry Tea," he commanded gently, his eyes searching for her face until he saw her standing several feet in front of him. Her blue eyes were puffy and lined with red, and her skin was splotched with blotchy patches. She looked awful.

"I'm sorry," she said, biting her glossy pink lips to conceal a wail, "I was just so worried about you!"

"We all were," Mr. Atemu added gently, withdrawing the hand from behind Yuugi's neck and backing away to give the boy some more air.

"I-I'm fine, I promise," Yuugi replied, slowly trying to sit up. Instantly, he felt white-hot ribbons of pain snake through his chest, and he felt like his heart was being pulled in every direction. A sudden pressure on his stomach guided him back down to the ground, accompanied by a soft murmuring, and instantly he felt the aching subside again. Looking at his belly, he realized that Mr. Atemu's hand was resting on him protectively. Under any other circumstances, he would have been over the moon... however, there was no misinterpreting this gesture as anything other than deep concern.

Still, it was enough to finally draw Yuugi's attention back to his instructor, who had leaned back onto his knees to support himself. For the first time since he had awoken, Yuugi finally took a good look at the man.

Mr. Atemu was soaking wet, the water causing his navy shirt to cling to his chest, outlining every muscle. His dark hair framed his face in a wild halo, and some strands were still dripping, causing tiny rivulets of liquid to crawl down his chest, arms, and back. He was panting so very slightly, and his lips looked slightly plumper than normal, as if he had just spend the past ten minutes heatedly kissing someone. Yuugi realized that he must be all right if his brain was already sending him on those tangents again. Still, this was the closest he had ever actually been to the object of his affections, and a very small, traitorous part of him, was celebrating his brush with death enthusiastically.

"Yuugi, please don't try to sit up," Mr. Atemu requested gently. "An ambulance has just arrived, and I'd like to have the paramedics look you over first, to make sure that you haven't suffered a concussion. Can you do that?"

Yuugi hummed his assent, and watched his teacher smile gratefully.

"Thank you Yuugi," Mr. Atemu said, before using his free hand to motion someone over. Instantly, a tall, muscular man in a navy uniform appeared at his side. The man had long, chocolate brown hair that was tied into a sensible low ponytail, and kind green eyes.

"Now Yuugi, this is Mahado. Mahado is a paramedic and a good friend, he'll look after you," the instructor said reassuringly, before turning his attention to the dark skinned paramedic beside him.

"Mahado, Yuugi fell from the second floor balcony into the pool," Mr. Atemu reported clinically, "He passed out on impact. I resuscitated him, but I'm worried that he may have a concussion. I-I can't tell if he hit his head or not. There was some confusion as he awoke, and his pupils are still quite dilated." Yuugi instantly felt self-conscious, and wished that there was mirror that he could look into, to examine his so-called dilated eyes.

"All right, thank you Yami," Mahado replied, and Yuugi instantly liked his voice. It was extremely soothing. "Yuugi, could you please look at me for a moment?"

Yuugi nearly whined as a bright light was shone into his eyes, and he felt Mr. Atemu's hand slip quietly away from his belly.

"Dilation is a little off, but over all, actually looks quite good," Mahado replied, his voice lilting in surprise. "Do you feel any pain, Yuugi?" he asked, as his careful hands gently prodded various areas on Yuugi's scalp, feeling for swelling.

"Not so much in my head," Yuugi replied quietly, "though my chest really hurts and my throat is a bit raw."

"Ah, unfortunately chest pain is a common side affect of nearly drowning," Mahado replied sympathetically, "you'll likely experience it for a few days - even for an entire week. And your throat is probably a result of coughing up water when you awoke - luckily, it should be gone by tomorrow morning."

Yuugi shrugged his shoulders. He didn't remember coughing up any water, but it made sense. As if sensing his thoughts, Mr. Atemu added, "You fainted again almost immediately afterwards. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't remember." Yuugi nodded in acquiescence.

"Well if there are no head injuries, and you feel able to, then we should try and have you sit up. Slowly, no sudden movements," Mahado added, as he slipped a strong arm behind Yuugi's back and helped the teen up into a seated position. Yuugi's chest burned again at the motion, but it was no where near as intense as it had been earlier.

Immediately, Yuugi's purple eyes turned up to Mr. Atemu's crimson ones, and he said sincerely, "Thanks for saving me, Mr. Atemu."

Mr. Atemu rubbed his chest in what Yuugi imagined was slight embarrassment at having received praise. The instructor had always been extremely modest, and that modesty only grew when he performed something particularly noteworthy. "Any time Yuugi," his velvety replied gently, dismissing Mahado with a nod, "and I am so glad that you are all right." Reaching down, the young teacher helped Yuugi to his feet, steadying him when the teen swayed slightly. Tea instantly appeared at his other side.

"I'm going to take him home now, okay Mr. Atemu?" she asked worriedly, her hand reaching out and grasping Yuugi's shoulder comfortingly.

"Yes, I believe that this field trip is over," Mr. Atemu sighed sadly, releasing his hold on Yuugi completely.

"It was great up until I decided to go for a swim," Yuugi joked, causing Tea to shake her head.

"What did I tell you, sir?" she sighed dramatically. "He has a dry sense of humor on Fridays."

"Or a wet one," Mr. Atemu replied quietly, causing Yuugi to erupt in giggles.

"Good one," Yuugi snickered, earning a soft smile from his teacher.

"It warms my heart to see you laugh again," the man said genuinely, before turning to Tea and adding, "Please, call for a taxi and take him home. Charge it to me. I will call his Grandfather shortly and explain the situation to him. Oh and Yuugi," he continued quietly, "Joey was hoping to speak to you before you left. I understand if you are angry with him and do not wish to. However, I believe that he would like to apologize."

"Honestly sir," Yuugi replied, his eyes searching out Joey in the crowd. The blonde was standing next to Tristan, and both looked absolutely stricken. Yuugi felt a different ache in his chest as he watched the pair sadly. "It was an accident," Yuugi continued quietly.

"He should be tossed out of school on his ass!" Tea snarled, hugging Yuugi's body protectively to her chest. "He could've killed you!"

"No," Yuugi replied patiently, "it was just Joey being Joey. Don't punish him for it."

"He does need to learn to be more careful, at any rate," Mr. Atemu said thoughtfully. "However, as I agree that there was no malicious intent, I won't be forced to inflict anything too nasty. Now I'm going to go call your Grandfather, then I'll meet you both over by the taxi stand."

"Thank you," Yuugi said, and Mr. Atemu returned his sentiments with a distracted smile. The teacher expertly fished a surprisingly dry cell phone out of his pocket, and asked for Yuugi's home number. After receiving it, the teacher dialed it quickly, and walked several feet away to conduct the call in private.

Yuugi cast one last look at his teacher before turning his body to take a cautious step forward. Suddenly though, he felt... off balance. Looking down, he instantly realized why. "Where's my other shoe?" he asked Tea curiously, but she was gazing over his shoulder with a stormy expression on her face.

"Ehh, right here," Joey's voice answered unsurely, and Yuugi looked up to see that the blonde had made his way over. Sure enough, he held out his hand and presented Yuugi with his missing black shoe.

"Thanks Joey," Yuugi replied, happily taking the shoe and shoving it on his foot. "That's much better."

Joey was quiet for a moment, staring at Yuugi with sad hazel eyes. Finally, he broke down. "I'm so sorry," he began, but was instantly cut off by a furious Tea.

"Well you should be -" Tea began, but Yuugi quickly ended her tirade before she picked up speed.

"Tea, can you give us a moment?" he pleaded, widening his purple eyes in a way that he knew was completely irresistible. She looked ready to argue for a moment, but nodded her head jerkily.

"I guess I should call Ryou and let him know that you're all right now," she agreed quietly, causing Yuugi to yelp.

"You told Ryou?!" he nearly shrieked, causing Tea to roll her bright eyes.

"It's Ryou. He probably knew about the accident before I texted him. In fact, he probably knew about it before you hit the water," she reminded quietly, and at the same time, whipped her cell phone out of her purse.

"That's true," Yuugi agreed. Ryou just knew everything. There was no telling how or why, but he did. "He's just, probably... freaking out."

"Exactly," Tea replied, "and the longer he goes without hearing from us, the longer he'll be freaking out."

"Well, just let him know that I'm all right, okay?" Yuugi asked gently.

"Okay," she said, and with that, Tea walked off, dialing the number as she went, before putting the phone to her ear and speaking in hushed tones.

Satisfied that Tea wouldn't jump in again, Yuugi turned to Joey and waited for him to speak. When it became clear that Joey was waiting nervously for Yuugi to begin the conversation, Yuugi did what he did best, and obliged him.

"So... I know it was an accident, and I-I told Mr. Atemu that, and he said that you wouldn't get expelled or suspended or anything..." Yuugi rushed, all in one breath.

"I wasn't worried about me!" Joey exclaimed, trace amounts of his usual indignity surfacing in his voice, "I was worried about you! You coulda died! Gettin expelled was the least a' my worries."

Yuugi was shocked for a moment. "You were really that worried me about?" he asked curiously, after a moment.

"Yeah," Joey said quietly, shoving a hand in his pocket self-consciously.

"Why?"

"Umm..." Joey began unsurely. "Look I know dat I wasn't dat great to ya in Middle School. I was kinda jealous because everyone thought you were so nice and stuff, so yeah, I was a total jerk actually. Anyways I get it now. Why people like ya. Yer just so good ta people, y'know? But people aren't good to ya sometimes, and I wanted ta make sure dat no one treated ya like I did. Crap I'm no good at dis stuff," he rambled, though to Yuugi, it made an odd sort of sense.

"Wait, ya like riddles right?" Joey asked hopefully, his eyes slightly less dull than before.

"Y-yeah, riddles are great," Yuugi said, trailing off slightly. He wasn't quite sure what the blonde was getting at.

"Kay. So what's somethin' that ya can show but can't see?" Joey asked, unsure again.

"Umm," Yuugi pondered for a moment, before looking at Joey apologetically. "Can I get back to you on that one? My head's still a little fuzzy."

"It's friendship... and we're... friends," Joey finished jerkily, looking at Yuugi anxiously. "Right?"

Yuugi was quiet for a moment, before his face split into a big smile. "Okay!" he exclaimed happily, rushing forward to give Joey a hug.

"Wha?" Joey stuttered momentarily, before wrapping his arms unsurely around the tiny teenager. "Y-yer okay wit dat?"

"I'd love to be your friend, Joey," Yuugi replied sincerely, releasing the tall blonde from the embrace.

Joey's face broke into a huge smile, matching Yuugi. "All right!" he said, jumping cheerfully with his hand in the air. "Well den, as my first official act as yer friend, Tristan's havin' a party tonight and I want ya ta come!"

"Tonight?" Yuugi blanched.

Joey must have taken Yuugi's shock as indecision, because he quickly added, "Only if yer feelin' okay, buddy!"

"Yeah - yeah I should be fine. Can I bring Tea and Ryou too?" Yuugi asked loyally, sparing a glance for Tea. She had clearly just wrapped up her conversation with Ryou and had turned the full force of her glare on Joey once again.

"Ryou fer sure - and Tea too, if ya can promise she won't attack me," Joey replied with a shudder, as he looked at the fuming brunette.

"I'll talk to her," Yuugi giggled, as he turned and waved her over. "Tea, come here!"

Immediately she was at his side. "What?" she asked in concern, her eyes never leaving Joey's face, "did he say something bad to you?"

"Nope, but he wants us to come to his party tonight," Yuugi said with a toothy grin.

"Oh how sweet," Tea bit back, her eyes narrowing in Joey's direction. Joey withered slightly, but bravely stood his ground and nodded, his bushy hair bobbing at the motion.

"Yeah, I-I was gonna ask you guys anyways, dat's why I came over... before I knocked inta Yuug der..."

"Well we have plans," Tea hissed, grabbing Yuugi by the arm and pulling him away from the startled blonde. Yuugi cast an embarrassed look over his shoulder and mouthed 'I'll talk to her' in Joey's general direction. Joey must have understood, because he nodded happily before launching himself exuberantly in Tristan's direction.

"The nerve of that little..." Tea grumbled brokenly, "I mean... how could he... after he nearly killed you... and the way he treated you in Middle School... jerk..."

"I want to go," Yuugi said firmly, causing Tea to halt mid-step.

"You WHAT?" she gasped, her eyes wide.

"I want to go," Yuugi repeated stubbornly, but his resolve quickly broke as he watched his best friend's face darken in anger. "Look Tea... Joey feels really bad for what he did today. And he shouldn't, it wasn't on purpose. I hope maybe this'll help him feel less guilty. Besides, he said that he really wants to try being friends, and I like him and want to give him a chance. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?"

Tea was uncharacteristically silent for a moment, but suddenly she shook her head fondly. "Only you would want to go to a party after you basically drowned just to make someone else happy," she said quietly. "If it really means this much to you, I'll come too. I'm sure Ryou will as well."

"You guys are the best," Yuugi said, pulling her into his arms for a huge hug. He felt her arms wrap around him, and her warm breath tickle his forehead comfortingly. Suddenly, however, he was overcome with another thought that made his neck warm and his cheeks blush bright red.

"Tea..." Yuugi asked carefully, "what did Mr. Atemu mean when he said that he 'resuscitated me'?"

"Oh," Tea exhaled, a smile gracing her face for the first time since his accident... though truthfully, this was more of a smirk. "Nothing big. He just gave you mouth-to-mouth," she continued, shrugging her shoulders indifferently, though her cerulean eyes glowed brightly.

"WHAT?!" Yuugi exclaimed, leaping out of her embrace and staring at her with wide eyes.

"Now you heard the paramedics," Tea scolded jokingly, "no sudden movements."

"Mouth... to-mouth?" Yuugi asked dazedly.

"Yup."

"Huh."

"I know," Tea added sympathetically, "you finally get your chance to kiss him and you don't even remember it."

"Oh very funny," Yuugi scoffed, though inwardly he agreed with her one hundred percent.

"Well, next time we go down to the beach for a swim, I'll make sure we invite him," Tea giggled, as the pair began their trek to the taxi station, where Mr. Atemu had said that he would meet them. "Maybe we can get a repeat performance."

Yuugi toyed with the idea momentarily, but the pain in his chest flared up again in warning, making him discard the thought immediately. Not only was the plan completely insane, but he wouldn't want to put up with this stupid pain ever again if he could help it. It was already getting pretty old.

"Thanks Ms. Matchmaker," he drawled instead, looping his arm through hers amicably. "Now come on. We have a lot to do before this party tonight."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we have to first convince my Grandpa that I'm not dead enough to spend the rest of the night in bed, we con him into giving us a bottle of wine, and then we have to get him to let me wear what I want to the party. You know how he is about my clothes."

"Ah, so we're doing leather tonight, are we?" Tea asked cheekily, already knowing the answer.

"You know it."


	4. Chapter 3

**WARNING:** Under age drinking, and a bit of Yuugi/not Yami, but I promise that it's very innocent... I just want Yuugi to have a bit of fun before I turn his world around next chapter.

**LIN NOTES**: Second posting of the weekend, in celebration of the holiday! I put this together in about six hours, but am quite happy with it. Still, I can't wait until next time, when we start getting into the good stuff.

Song titles seem to be my inspiration these days. The chapter title is taken from _And We Danced _by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

**-Pulled-**

**Chapter Three: And We Danced**

Yuugi felt a familiar thrill rush down his spine as he pushed open the front door to Tristan's house. It had taken quite a bit of convincing for his Grandpa to allow him out after his brush with death, but a combination of Yuugi's wide eyes and Tea's responsible promises had finally won the old man over. He had, however, put his foot down about passing off a bottle of wine to the two teenagers, so the unfortunate pair found themselves arriving without any booze to speak of. However, it was a step up from what Yuugi had been expecting in the first place, so he really couldn't complain.

Tristan's house was large enough to accommodate most of the student body, despite the fact that his father was far from affluent. Yes, Tristan, like Joey, lived alone with his father - a recovering alcoholic who had instead chosen to become a raging workaholic. Neither provided Tristan with much of a father figure to look up to, so it was astounding that the boy had turned out as well as he had... but his home was usually abandoned on weekends, making it the ideal party spot.

As Yuugi moved through the entranceway and into the living room, followed closely by Tea, he finally felt at ease for the first time since he had awoken soaking wet and lying on a slab of concrete. True, the pains in his chest hadn't gone away, but Yuugi knew that he was quite lucky, so he kept quiet about them. Besides, best friend or not, if Tea thought that he was anything but right as rain, she would have his ass back home faster than he could say 'Porch Crawler'.

Speaking of Tea, a dainty hand was suddenly in his, and Yuugi found himself staring into the kind cerulean eyes of his best friend. Tea looked wonderful tonight, Yuugi noted, without the jealousy that should have been expected from an ex-boyfriend. She wore a tight, knit tank top that hugged her figure closely, and a short, red leather pencil skirt that hugged her round hips perfectly. On her feet she wore high, black leather boots that seemed to make her legs go on forever. In short, with her glossy brown hair down and straight, and her eyes played up with just enough make-up, she looked nothing short of sexy.

"Hah, everyone's going to be jealous that I've got such a beautiful date," Yuugi teased loudly, raising his voice so that she could hear him over Lady Gaga, who was in the midst of encouraging the growing crowds of teenagers to _Just Dance._ It looked like most had started obliging her, Yuugi noted, as groups of tipsy people made their way into the large common space, some stumbling over the collection of red Dixie cups that had already begun to litter the chipped hardwood floors.

"Well aren't you a lucky guy," Tea replied saucily, with her signature big-smile-and-wink combination. "Still Yuugi, you look pretty fab yourself. I think I did all right too!"

Yuugi blushed shyly for a moment but did not disagree. He knew that when he threw on his leather, he got noticed. That was sort've the point. Today, he wore a tight, black tank top that hugged his chest and just skimmed the waistband of his skinny, dark wash jeans. Multiple leather belts, some with spikes and others with large buckles, criss-crossed around his waist, matching the slightly gothic choker around his neck. He had toyed with the idea of wearing a pendant as well, but at the last minute had decided against it; large clunky jewelry usually got in his way when he was dancing.

"Yuuuugi!" a loud, boisterous voice called out from across the room, causing Yuugi to pause his inner fashion monologue. "Ya made it!" Joey Wheeler greeted enthusiastically, stumbling across the makeshift dance floor with a half-empty beer bottle clutched in his hand.

"Hey Joey," Yuugi said cheerfully, nearly buckling under the weight of his new friend as the blonde's upper body fell across Yuugi's shoulders in a giant bear hug. Yuugi could smell a considerable amount of beer on Joey's breath, but he laughed excitedly alongside the exuberant boy. "Looks like there was a great turn out," he added enthusiastically, carefully extracting himself from Joey's gangly arms.

"Yeah, not bad if I say so myself!" the blonde replied proudly, puffing out his chest dramatically. "If ya don't mind me askin, how did ya convince yer Gramps ta let you come?"

"Oh you know, Yuugi just gave him the puppy-dog eyes!" Tea joked, with a toothy smile. "They're impossible to resist!"

Joey blinked once slowly, before matching Tea's smile. "Oh hey Tea! Glad ya could make it!" Tea blinked at the blonde, clearly shocked by his lack of perception, but surprised Yuugi by not commenting on it. Joey evidently didn't notice, as he continued with, "so let's dem puppy dog eyes, Yuug!"

Yuugi sighed good-naturedly, then purposefully tilted his head downwards so that his violet eyes looked even wider than usual. Then, he forced them to lengthen and arch upwards, until he gave an almost perfect impression of a young golden retriever. Joey stared for a second, and then chortled, giving Yuugi a slow round of applause.

"Man dos are pretty good!" he conceded, before a dreamy expression arose on his face. "I love puppies," Joey said tipsily, ruffling Yuugi's hair with one of his paw-like hands, "y'know, we should get a puppy, Yuug. You an' me. We could call it... Spike."

"How original," Tea quipped, though without any venom. Yuugi smiled to himself. She was clearly starting to forgive the free-spirited, though sometimes clueless, blonde boy. _Maybe we can all be friends, _Yuugi thought hopefully.

"Heyyy welcome back to the world of the living!" Tristan's voice suddenly greeted, as he arrived behind Tea and Yuugi, toting a half empty crate of beer. "Yeah, I figured I could be the good guy tonight and make sure that everyone had their fill of beer," Tristan said sheepishly, as he noticed the pair eyeing the large box in his hands. Suddenly, Tristan shouted excitedly: "Hey everyone!Yuugi's risen from the dead!" The star athlete's announcement was met with scattered, drunken applause from the nearby students. Joey lifted his arms out in front of him and walked several steps like a zombie, before breaking down into hysterical laughter, as if he was the funniest thing that he had ever seen.

Tristan looked at Joey with slight pity, and then shook his head. "Don't mind the idiot over there," he said, jutting his slightly squared chin in Joey's direction, though his own hazel eyes were crinkled in amusement. "He gets uncontrollable when he drinks. And speaking of drinking... can I get either of you something?"

Yuugi caught Tea's eye and smiled. _And thus a solution presents itself_, he cheered happily. "Yes please!" Yuugi requested, "for both of us!"

"Sure thing!" Tristan said, walking over to a nearby coffee table and setting the cardboard box full of beer on top. Yuugi, Joey and Tea followed closely behind. "Hope you guys don't mind Coors!"

Hardly in the position to be picky, though truthfully, he wasn't a huge fan of beer, Yuugi said, "Sounds great!". Tristan handed Yuugi two cold bottles, and the spiky-haired teen graciously offered one to Tea. She accepted the bottle happily. "Grab as many as you want!" Tristan offered generously. "There's more where that came from... and I'm betting between your parents and the paramedics, you didn't have time to pick up anything for yourself."

Yuugi was momentarily stunned at the mention of his parents, feeling his chest twinge in a pain that was quite different from the one that he had been plagued with all day. He thought everyone knew by this point that they weren't... _around _anymore. It wasn't something that he wanted to bring up though - especially not at a party of all places.

"That's super considerate of you," Tea jumped in quickly, but with complete sincerity. Bless her. It was like she could read Yuugi's mind. "We definitely wanted to take it easy for the rest of the day. But you know what? I think a bit of fun is _just_ want the doctor ordered!" she continued optimistically, grinning widely.

"Really?!" Joey exclaimed loudly, his brown eyes uncharacteristically large.

"No not really, you dolt," Tristan chortled, and Yuugi half expected the two to break out into another play fight.

The beer must have mellowed Joey for the evening, however, because the shaggy blonde's face just dropped. "Man, I was gonna say - I'm goin' ta see _dat_ doctor next time I'm sick!"

The group laughed and Joey looked pleased, as always, to have momentarily provided some entertainment. "Anyways, Yuug," Joey said, reaching out and grabbing Yuugi's tiny hand in his own large one, "Der's someone I want ya to meet. Do ya mind if I borrow him for a minute, der, Tea?"

Tea was mid swig of her beer, and choked slightly. "N-not at all," she said, with a dismissive wave, all the while gasping slightly for air, "I'll find you later Yuugi." Ever the gentleman, Yuugi immediately went to her aid, and began thumping her on the back to help her clear out her lungs. "S-seriously," she spluttered with a half-laugh, "I'm fine!"

"Well, if you're sure..." Yuugi said, slightly concerned. "I'll come find you in a bit then!" Tea nodded cheerfully, and immediately began conversing with Tristan about the basketball team's chances that fall.

"Okay Joey, so who are we meeting?" Yuugi asked curiously, only able to keep up with his tall friend's giant strides because the blonde kept stumbling. _He's going to slosh that beer down the front of his t-shirt_, Yuugi laughed inwardly as Joey took a moment to steady himself against the nearest wall.

"Ohhh just ya wait and see, lil buddy!" was the mysterious answer.

-o-

Joey, it turned out, had been wanting to introduce Yuugi to his little sister Serenity Wheeler. Serenity was a full year younger than him, but the two were as close as siblings could get - even though, Yuugi was shocked to learn, they didn't live together. Serenity actually lived with Joey's partially estranged mother, who had taken Serenity and left Joey's father while the pair were still in middle school. For many years, she had refused to let the pair interact, but they found a way around her strict rules. Finally, the Wheeler matriarch realized that she couldn't keep them separated indefinitely, and according to Joey, she had started 'chillin' out a bit'.

As Yuugi and Serenity started chatting amicably, Joey excused himself with a goofy grin, and his intentions suddenly became quite obvious. _He's trying to set me up with her, _Yuugi realized. Vaguely, Yuugi wondered if Tea was in on it, but quickly turned his attention back to the girl in front of him, and began discussing generic things, like school and classes.

Serenity was extremely cute, Yuugi decided after several moments. She had very long, chestnut brown hair that fell in a thick sheet half way down her back, and kind eyes that matched her brother's. She was very petite, lacking both curves and height, and Yuugi instantly felt protective of her. She was dressed quite sensibly too, compared to most of the girls in the house, wearing a simple blue dress with thin spaghetti straps, and slightly worn, brown sandals.

"So, how do you know my brother?" she asked, her voice light and sweet.

"Oh we have Ancient History together," Yuugi replied cheerfully, thankful that the somewhat dark lighting concealed his blush as he added, "with Mr. Atemu."

"Oh my _gosh, _you have Mr. Atemu?" Serenity squealed, clapping her hands together in excitement. "I can't _believe _that Joey didn't tell me that! Mr. Atemu is _so _cute, all of the girls in my grade have a huge crush on him!"

"It's not just your grade, believe me!" Yuugi chirped, as the memory of Mr. Atemu's water-slicked body invaded his mind briefly. "He's pretty popular in mine as well!"

"I _really _hope I have him next year... even though I'm not really a history person," Serenity confessed.

"That's okay!" Yuugi replied enthusiastically, "trust me, Mr. Atemu could make anything interesting!"

"Oh I believe you!" Serenity added, and the pair broke into slightly girlish giggles. "I really like you," Serenity said after moment, finally catching her breath, "you're really easy to talk to."

"Well, I'm always around," Yuugi said with a smile, "if you ever need someone to hear you out."

"I might just take you up on that!" Serenity replied, giving Yuugi a winning smile.

-o-

Yuugi had stood with Serenity for what must have been about half an hour, talking about everything from board games to sports. Though she didn't share many of his interests, Yuugi was pleased that she seemed genuinely curious about his life and willing to learn about his hobbies. She, too, took it upon herself to educate him - though he wasn't sure when his newly acquired knowledge of MAC cosmetics or Louboutin shoes would come in handy, it was worth it just to see her face light up.

All too soon, Joey returned, and summoned the pair for a game of Truth or Dare. Never one to back down from a challenge, _especially _when that challenge was any sort of game, Yuugi opted to join in enthusiastically, and accepted a second - or was it a third? - beer from the shaggy blonde. Following Joey's lead like the conductor in a parade, Yuugi and Serenity made their way into the backyard, where a large group of teenagers sat in a circle on the freshly cut grass.

Immediately, Yuugi's keen violet eyes picked out Tea, and he waved at her. Next to her sat a small boy with spiky white hair, and Yuugi instantly perked up when he recognized his other best friend. Ryou's chocolate brown eyes caught Yuugi's purple gaze, and the pale boy immediately poked Tea lightly in the side to get her attention. She turned to him questioningly, and moments later, her blue eyes turned to Yuugi, and immediately looked from him to Serenity. Quickly, she flashed him an approving smile and a big thumbs up, which was echoed by Ryou with slightly less flamboyance. Rolling his eyes at the pair fondly, he nodded once to their unspoken question. Yes, he liked Serenity. She was a sweet girl.

"Serenity," he asked the cute brunette softly, "do you want to come sit with me and my two friends over there?"

"Sure!" Serenity exclaimed with a large smile, and the two began walking towards Tea and Ryou, with Yuugi in the lead. His two friends smiled brightly as the pair approached, and instantly moved aside to make room on the ground beside them.

"Tea, Ryou," Yuugi said graciously, as he and Serenity took their seats on the grass, "this is Serenity Wheeler, Joey's sister."

"Yup, we've met before!" Tea replied with a conspiring wink, confirming Yuugi's earlier suspicion that she was in on Joey's little 'Set Up Yuugi with Serenity' plan.

"It's a pleasure," Ryou said kindly, reaching out to shake Serenity's dainty hand. "Mind the grass, you two," he cautioned as Yuugi and Serenity sat down, "it's a bit wet."

Once the introductions had been made, Ryou turned to look at Yuugi seriously. "How are you?" he asked in concern, "Tea was telling me that you were feeling much better, but I wanted to hear it from you."

Yuugi rubbed his chest uncomfortably, and decided to answer honestly. "Not 100% yet, but getting there," he said encouragingly. Ryou looked at him with slight skepticism, but seemed to accept his answer. With a nod that shook his white hair from root to tip, he turned his attention to Joey, who had finally decided to get the game going.

"All right gang," Joey began cheerfully, "Now dis game is called Truth a' Dare. If ya choose truth, ya better answer honestly or I _will _find out and beat da truth outta ya. If ya pick dare, den be prepared. I got some good ones ta-night. Most importantly, ya gotta take a drink every time ya ask a question or get asked a question. Der's unlimited beer, courtesy a' one Tristan Taylor, so no excuses! Now who's ready?"

The group of teenagers cheered enthusiastically, causing Joey to smirk in anticipation.

"Den let da games begin!"

-o-

Yuugi awoke with a barbaric pounding in his head and the sun streaming into his powder blue bedroom. _So this is what it feels like to be hungover,_ Yuugi realized dismally, opening his tired, violet eyes and immediately slamming them shut as the world spun around him. The light _hurt_. Wretched light - and _god_ what was that noise? His chest still throbbed as a terrible reminder from yesterday's drowning adventure, reminding him that he hadn't escaped that misery yet either. Today was going to be absolutely marvelous, he could just tell.

_I don't even remember getting home last night,_ he realized with a groan, covering his closed eyes with his palms. _Man, I don't remember much of _anything _after that Truth or Dare game got started._

He rolled out of bed after several minutes of working himself up to it, reminding himself that he would have to face the day at some point. Irritated as the room spun around him, he braced himself on the edge of his bed until he felt slightly less sick, and then stretched his arms above his head. With a hiss at the sudden pain in his chest that accompanied the motion, he gradually forced himself up and padded towards his adjoined bathroom, gazing lazily at his reflection in the floor length mirror.

Suddenly, a dark spot above his left hip caught his attention.

_Oh. Fuck._

"I got a _tattoo?_" he shrieked, running up to the mirror and twisting his body to get a better look at the offending design. Sure enough, there it was, made of fine, black lines, curving into a what looked like an Egyptian Eye of Horus, though it didn't look quite right. "Oh god," he exhaled, running his hand over the marking in horror, "how did I get a tattoo without even remembering it? What am I gonna tell Grandpa?"

He flung himself back across his room and onto his bed, scooping up his cellphone frantically. Dialing as fast as humanly possible, he waited with abated breath for an answer.

"You better have a bloody good excuse for calling me this early on a Saturday," a British accent hissed grumpily on the other end.

"Ryou!" Yuugi replied frantically, causing his friend to jump in real concern. "Ryou, I got a tattoo last night!"

"Congratulations?" Ryou's voice replied quizzically, "though I'm rather surprised. I wasn't aware that tattoos were your thing."

"They _aren't_," Yuugi whined, "I don't even _remember_ getting one."

"Good lord, I knew you were drunk last night, but I didn't know that it was quite that bad," Ryou commented airily.

"Well thanks for the sympathy," Yuugi grumbled, lying down on his comforter. He glared across the room as he heard Ryou start to laugh.

"If you had wanted sympathy, you would have called Tea," Ryou replied cheerfully. That was true, Yuugi agreed mentally, he wanted to talk to Ryou to logic this down, not to bitch it out. That would come later, once Ryou helped him figure this whole mess out.

"I just want to figure out when I got it and how!" Yuugi murmured, waiting for Ryou, as always, to have all of the answers. Unfortunately, the white haired boy came up with nothing. "It wasn't one of Joey's dares, right?" he asked worriedly, to which Ryou replied with a quick 'no'. Yuugi hadn't expected it to be either - Tea or Ryou would have certainly stopped him. It was foolish to have even asked.

"It is quite strange," Ryou mused thoughtfully, after Yuugi explained the location and nature of the design to his best friend. "You aren't even of age. No reputable place would have taken you, especially given your state of intoxication."

"Well great, does that mean I went to a _not_ reputable place?" Yuugi asked fearfully, instantly thinking of unsanitized needles and communicable diseases.

"I doubt it," Ryou replied surely, "even at your worst, you are abnormally responsible for someone our age, Yuugi. Even Joey Wheeler couldn't pressure you into his final dare."

"Um, final dare?" Yuugi questioned in embarrassment, to which Ryou scoffed in obvious disapproval. "What final dare?"

"You can't have forgotten?" Ryou stated incredulously, waiting for Yuugi to laugh and say that he was joking. "Oh surely not? Yuugi! Well then forget about what I said about being responsible..."

"Oh just tell me already Ryou," Yuugi snapped, his head and chest pulsing in an uncomfortable unison of pain. _Oh and there comes the nausea_, he thought miserably, as his insides began to bubble painfully. _Just great_. His body was determined to get even with him after last night's adventure.

"Joey dared you to strip down and run to the Quik-Mart and back," Ryou deadpanned, causing Yuugi to shriek. That, of course, was a big mistake, as his own ears instantly began to ring painfully, and if Ryou's colourful curses were any indication, he was in a similar state.

"Bloody hell," Ryou breathed angrily, "must you? Anyways, as I said earlier, you refused. And thank _God_ for that Yuugi, as I would've been quite cross if I had to bail you out of jail this morning. Though now that you mention it, the perfect Yuugi Motou booked for streaking and underage drinking _would _have been quite a story to tell..."

"Oh zip it," Yuugi snapped without any real malice. Instead, he was nearly giggling alongside his friend. "But Ryou, my memory of last night is pretty foggy... did I do anything... else?"

"Oh you did plenty of things," Ryou chortled teasingly, causing Yuugi to tense on the other end of the line.

"Oh crap, like what?" he said, panicking.

"Relax, relax," Ryou soothed, "I'm merely teasing. In all fairness, the Truth or Dare game lasted most of the evening, and was generally quite tame... well until near the end..."

"God," Yuugi groaned miserably. "Just get tell me and get it over with."

"You kissed Serenity," Ryou obliged candidly, "at Joey's request, rather his dare, of all things. And Tea. And Yuri Mako. And myself."

"I kissed _you?_" Yuugi shrieked, shooting up into a seated position on his bed, his back stiff as a board. Anxiously, he ran a hand through the spiky streaks of his hair.

"Why darling," Ryou replied acidly, "I'm heartbroken that you don't remember. I thought that we had a connection, didn't you?"

"Cute," Yuugi grumbled. "Really?" he asked after a moment. "W-we kissed?"

"Yes," Ryou replied loftily. "It was your dare. I just went along for the ride."

Silence rang for several moments.

"Was I any good?" Yuugi joked quietly, causing Ryou to chortle on the other end.

"I was, unfortunately, the last in your line of victims," Ryou said dramatically, "and really, you were quite knackered by then. Though truthfully, you weren't that bad, just a tad sloppy."

"Whew," Yuugi said, in mock relief. He let his body fold back down onto his bed, his back impacting his mattress heavily. One question still weighed heavily on his mind. "Did... Serenity say anything about me, after I kissed her?" he added nonchalantly.

"She seemed pleased enough. Though Tristan Taylor looked quite murderous," Ryou cackled merrily. Yuugi shrugged casually, forgetting that Ryou couldn't see him.

"He's probably just being protective of his best friend's sister," he decided calmly, until he heard Ryou's doubtful snicker.

"I'm quite sure that Tristan has a far more _vested _interest in Miss Serenity than that," Ryou said surely, "after all, you would generally make the perfect boyfriend for a young girl like that. If he was merely being protective, I say that it was completely misplaced."

"Perfect boyfriend?" Yuugi asked curiously.

"Yes," Ryou replied impatiently. "Considerate, caring, kind. You wouldn't pressure her, you're intelligent, pleasant to look at. You have a lot to offer, my friend. Even when you _aren't _wearing your leather."

"Har har," Yuugi said, pleased that Ryou couldn't see him blushing in pleasure. Though he had come a long way from his low days, Yuugi could still be quite shy and self-conscious sometimes... and it made him lousy at accepting compliments from others. Even from his best friends.

"A-anyways," Ryou continued, the word punctuated with an obvious yawn. "I for one need to sleep last night's adventure off. I'll research tattoo care when I wake - between the three of us, I'm sure we'll be able to prevent it from getting infected. In the meantime, you ought to rest as well. Last night, coupled with the trying events of yesterday, have surely tired you out."

"Y-yeah," Yuugi said, yawning himself. "I guess you're all caught up on Friday's field-trip, huh? I don't remember talking about it last night, but I'm sure Tea's told you everything. She was frantic about calling you while the paramedics were checking me out."

"Yuugi darling," Ryou drawled, "I know everything that goes on at this school, and that includes knowing when my best friend is on death's door. I assure you, however, that if I come up with any additional questions, I will let you know. Now enjoy your rest."

"I know," Yuugi said sleepily. "Good night Ryou!"

"Yuugi, it's morning."

"G-good morning Ryou," Yuugi said with a squeaky yawn, before clicking the 'End Call' button on his cell. He then rolled over and curled his body up into his baby blue comforter, falling asleep within seconds.


End file.
